St. Bees IDs

A new study confirms the identity of the body buried with the St. Bees Man, who is known for being one of the most well-preserved archaeological bodies ever discovered. He was interred in a lead coffin within a vault at a priory in Cumbria, northern England, after having died in a crusade in 1368. After six centuries, his skin, nails, and internal organs were in near-perfect condition. He was autopsied after his 1981 excavation, and reburied after preservation of tissue samples. Traditionally, he would have been buried with his wife. But the knight was identified as Anthony de Lucy, and the woman in the vault next to him is newly revealed to be his sister Maud (SHOWN SHROUDED ABOVE), who died 30 years after he was killed. About their methods, the researchers write, "The strength of the osteobiographical approach lies in harnessing human remains to elucidate the individual’s role in past societies, how social change is reflected in their funerary treatment, and their active role in socio-political continuity or change. In such circumstances, the body and its treatment becomes an artefact of and canvas for symbolic and social expression."

 

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